Bad posture
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GrooveMerchant wrote: »I doubt all kids around me, all adults etc walk around thinking "stand straight, stand straight" all day long.
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Most dont, and you can tell by their horrible posture. it makes my eyes water to see kids these days and if you tell them to stand up straight and care their physical health you are instantly accused of body shaming.
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GrooveMerchant wrote: »I doubt all kids around me, all adults etc walk around thinking "stand straight, stand straight" all day long.
.
Most dont, and you can tell by their horrible posture. it makes my eyes water to see kids these days and if you tell them to stand up straight and care their physical health you are instantly accused of body shaming.
Yep, most peoples posture sucks, stuck in a forward shoulder roll. Check out people's hands when they have their arms at their sides. The thumbs should point pretty much straight ahead, most don't.
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Can you swim? Ever since I started swimming and doing a water cardio class, my posture has improved tremendously. I notice it most when I sit at my desk. It feels awful to slouch now.0
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My posture improved considerably when I took a yoga class in college. Proper posture is emphasized for a lot of the poses or coming back to center after doing a flow. While taking the class, the proper posture just started becoming a habit, and several people commented that I looked taller and skinnier as a result. Unfortunately, my bad habits returned a few months after the class ended, but I will still sometimes think about what I was taught and readjust. I have also heard that strengthening your shoulders and core can help improve posture.0
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I have pretty good posture.
Some of it is natural from childhood, the rest I work on daily.
I do sit straight,I find a slouching position uncomfortable, and when walking, driving, or working on the computer continually check and correct if and when needed. Pelvis in line shoulders back and nutral, head back with chin horizontal to the floor ( the latter is my hardest)
It, correcting posture, does become a natural part of daily life,and not a chore, after a while, and your body feels more comfortable.
Yoga, water aerobics, swimming, walking, and lifting all are good for improving posture; if you concentrate on good form when performing them.
Barbell squats and dead lifts I found particularly effective at counteracting a forward shoulder roll that I was starting to notice.
Oh I forgot to mention belly dancing, that is the most fun way ever to work on posture.
Cheers, h.0 -
It feels worse for you to stand up straight because of the imbalance. It makes it much more uncomfortable for you to make yourself stand straight. It won't always feel like that. Do strengthening exercises for the deep neck flexors, trapezius, and rhomboids and stretch your pecs, and it gets more and more comfortable. Use weights.
I have a different upper-body problem, but I'm getting my shoulders back in position now, when they used to literally hurt to try to pull back correctly. You could push on them and they wouldn't go. So it's not just laziness with you, no! It means that your body structures have grown differently due to time, and that just takes some remedial work for a while is all.
Once I switched to weights and strength reps (long story), I saw a big improvement in 5 weeks. Plus the stretching, of course. They won't move back unless the front stretches that far
Good luck! 0 -
I am another one for mindful practice. I had terrible posture years ago and whenever it came to mind I would sit/stand up straight. Now it has become second nature to stand with good posture and it aches to slouch.
Honestly it's no hardship, just wanting to make the change and doing it when you remember is enough. Just stop once it gets uncomfortable.
After having babies my pt got me doing lat pull downs and similar exercises to strengthen my back and shoulders to help get my posture back and the chest stretches makes sense too. Imo if you are exercising anyway and making a conscious effort to correct your posture when it comes to mind then you don't need to do a special work out for it. Practice makes perfect!
The position of your pelvis also affects your posture. That might help relieve any discomfort from pulling your shoulders back too far if you just tilt your pelvis forward.
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I agree with the comment above.
The more you practice, the easier it will become.
It's challenging at first to overcome a bad habit but you can do it, especially if you've already noticed it and are willing to work on it.
You are half way there already0 -
How about do it to a reasonable comfort level and call that good until the stretching and strengthening kicks in (as it gets more comfortable as a result)?
I swear, one physio had me pulling my shoulders back all day as a direction, and it actually acted my bad back pain up to flare-up level** and made me unable to keep training schedule as well. I don't think she realized the sort of pain I meant. Flash-forward to me doing the strengthening/stretching and skipping the actual positions that felt too awful, and that worked much better. Fixing the strength and stretch made the awful positions attainable, not vice versa. I know that's not true for everyone, but if you feel like they take incredible strength and/or pain to hold back, that's not normal, so the underlying mechanisms need attention first, imho.
**I was trying to brute-force them back to do well, and that caused its own spasms and other pain (like in the joint). Gentle movement toward the goal should be fine, I think, but you might not get the posture fully right at that gentle pull. Just aim for it, comfortably. And do the rest!
I can't tell you how nice it is to have a plan that works better and quicker
I do my back lifts and stretching religiously, at low reps with more weight, and it's been amazing how much better that works (for me). It all still hurts after I do it, in my case. But you have to find that sweet spot when it comes to pain and physio. I only need 1 extra rest day, and progress is so much better. That's my sweet spot 0 -
Thank you all for the answers!
When I try to stand straight (without pushing anything that makes it uncomfortable) it kinda feels like I press together the vertebrae and stretch out the stomach to chest area...kinda. Maybe you all know what I mean but I literally know nothing about this, and I've never had good posture, so I just went ahead and made a weird paint-picture to explain what I mean + a photo of me standing like that. I don't try to push back my shoulders or anything, since that is uncomfortable. Would it be mindful enough if I try to keep that posture when awake? Or do I need to try press back my shoulders?
Weird (and probably unnecessary) paint art:
And me:
I'm not sure how it affects the forward neck/head, but chopping the photo I noticed that I didn't cut off some of my face with it, haha.
I wish I had enough money to buy a gym card and get access to equipment, but now I will have to do exercises at home. Could I use that big ball for other exercises? is it very useful? If it is, I suppose it is worth getting. I do have one of those resistance bands that I suppose I could do face pulls with, if I find a good spot. I'm thankful for the tips.
Btw, I find it harder to keep a "good" (if what I have above can be called that) posture when I sit, feels like all weight gets concentrated on the bones in my *kitten*, making it slightly more uncomfortable, haha.0 -
ErikaAurelia wrote: »Thank you all for the answers!
When I try to stand straight (without pushing anything that makes it uncomfortable) it kinda feels like I press together the vertebrae and stretch out the stomach to chest area...kinda. Maybe you all know what I mean but I literally know nothing about this, and I've never had good posture, so I just went ahead and made a weird paint-picture to explain what I mean + a photo of me standing like that. I don't try to push back my shoulders or anything, since that is uncomfortable. Would it be mindful enough if I try to keep that posture when awake? Or do I need to try press back my shoulders?
Weird (and probably unnecessary) paint art:
And me:
I'm not sure how it affects the forward neck/head, but chopping the photo I noticed that I didn't cut off some of my face with it, haha.
I wish I had enough money to buy a gym card and get access to equipment, but now I will have to do exercises at home. Could I use that big ball for other exercises? is it very useful? If it is, I suppose it is worth getting. I do have one of those resistance bands that I suppose I could do face pulls with, if I find a good spot. I'm thankful for the tips.
Btw, I find it harder to keep a "good" (if what I have above can be called that) posture when I sit, feels like all weight gets concentrated on the bones in my *kitten*, making it slightly more uncomfortable, haha.
Find an Alexander Technique teacher in you area and start taking sessions.
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SingingSingleTracker wrote: »ErikaAurelia wrote: »Thank you all for the answers!
When I try to stand straight (without pushing anything that makes it uncomfortable) it kinda feels like I press together the vertebrae and stretch out the stomach to chest area...kinda. Maybe you all know what I mean but I literally know nothing about this, and I've never had good posture, so I just went ahead and made a weird paint-picture to explain what I mean + a photo of me standing like that. I don't try to push back my shoulders or anything, since that is uncomfortable. Would it be mindful enough if I try to keep that posture when awake? Or do I need to try press back my shoulders?
Weird (and probably unnecessary) paint art:
And me:
I'm not sure how it affects the forward neck/head, but chopping the photo I noticed that I didn't cut off some of my face with it, haha.
I wish I had enough money to buy a gym card and get access to equipment, but now I will have to do exercises at home. Could I use that big ball for other exercises? is it very useful? If it is, I suppose it is worth getting. I do have one of those resistance bands that I suppose I could do face pulls with, if I find a good spot. I'm thankful for the tips.
Btw, I find it harder to keep a "good" (if what I have above can be called that) posture when I sit, feels like all weight gets concentrated on the bones in my *kitten*, making it slightly more uncomfortable, haha.
Find an Alexander Technique teacher in you area and start taking sessions.
Is it free? Else I can probably not afford it.0 -
From the photo your shoulders look rounded and your chin pushed forward, I think. I agree that this isn't something that you can fix permanently without conscious thought. Speaking personally, my awareness of posture has improved tremendously since I took up pilates. It teaches you to be more aware of your posture etc and it does follow through into every day life. I would recommend it, but if you are looking for something you don't have to pay you might struggle, because the adjustments you need are sometimes so small that they'd only be picked up by an experienced teacher, not learned on the internet.
Tl/dr : Push your shoulders back/down, tighten your core and keep your back straight whenever you think about it.0 -
From the photo your shoulders look rounded and your chin pushed forward, I think. I agree that this isn't something that you can fix permanently without conscious thought. Speaking personally, my awareness of posture has improved tremendously since I took up pilates. It teaches you to be more aware of your posture etc and it does follow through into every day life. I would recommend it, but if you are looking for something you don't have to pay you might struggle, because the adjustments you need are sometimes so small that they'd only be picked up by an experienced teacher, not learned on the internet.
Tl/dr : Push your shoulders back/down, tighten your core and keep your back straight whenever you think about it.
I'm incapable of pushing my chin back/push my neck back when I stand straight as in the last photo I shared, I just end up looking and feeling ridiculous. I hope exercise will help it look better x) I have been considering starting with pilates and yoga, but I have no money so I will not be able to do any of that before autumn (not even sure if I will be able to start with anything in autumn but I hope I will).0 -
ErikaAurelia wrote: »Is it free? Else I can probably not afford it.
Expect to pay between $50 and $120 per session. A few sessions would be a lifetime investment and really help you.0 -
Check out this video, it helped me out a tonne! https://youtube.com/watch?v=IeKnHtGysBc&list=LLKpkfCf71zhjjqCiUV0im8Q&index=130
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Part of posture is habit, the other is weak and stretched out muscles, also weak core muscles. You're pretty young so you should be able to improve with some attention to your self. That forward head is a problem for many people who spend so much time on their phones these days.
You might want to work with a physical therapist, who can give you a set of exercises that will help you develop your muscles and give you a regular routine to follow.
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SingingSingleTracker wrote: »ErikaAurelia wrote: »Is it free? Else I can probably not afford it.
Expect to pay between $50 and $120 per session. A few sessions would be a lifetime investment and really help you.
Can't find any place that seems legit around here with good information about it. The price is also way too much for me to handle anytime soon, I rather save up for pilates and yoga, tbh.47Jacqueline wrote: »Part of posture is habit, the other is weak and stretched out muscles, also weak core muscles. You're pretty young so you should be able to improve with some attention to your self. That forward head is a problem for many people who spend so much time on their phones these days.
You might want to work with a physical therapist, who can give you a set of exercises that will help you develop your muscles and give you a regular routine to follow.
My forward head is caused by something else, but I understand that others might get it from looking in their phones.
I like the idea of a physical therapist better than all the vague information I got when looking for alexander technique in my area. They're considerably cheaper as well, still can't afford it, but when it is a physical therapist I think I might be able to get my mother or father to pay the cost of one visit x)0 -
ErikaAurelia wrote: »I like the idea of a physical therapist better than all the vague information I got when looking for alexander technique in my area. They're considerably cheaper as well, still can't afford it, but when it is a physical therapist I think I might be able to get my mother or father to pay the cost of one visit x)
Every inch forward out of position that you find your head, it adds 10 pounds. So it is worth fixing no matter how you can afford it or address it.
Weight on the head...
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It is important to push your shoulders back and down, not hunched up against your neck. It will be uncomfortable for a while because you are not used to it. Just try to do it for short periods (even 30 sec to 1 min) at regular intervals like every 30 minutes. Slowly increase the amount of time you hold that position as it starts feeling easier.
This wikihow seems to have some good tips that you can start doing on your own without a gym http://www.wikihow.com/Improve-Your-Posture0
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